Appomattox (opera)
| Appomattox | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Philip Glass | |
Glass in 2007
|
|
| Librettist | Christopher Hampton |
| Language | English |
| Based on | American Civil War |
| Premiere | 5 October 2007 San Francisco Opera |
Appomattox is an opera in English based on the American Civil War, composed by Philip Glass, with a libretto by the playwright Christopher Hampton. The work had its world premiere at the San Francisco Opera on October 5, 2007, with a cast that included Dwayne Croft as Robert E. Lee, Andrew Shore as Ulysses S. Grant. The piece is about two and a half hours long, in two acts, with a prologue and an epilogue.
Tenor
Soprano
Mezzo-Soprano
Antoine Garth
Virginia Pluth
Claudia Siefer
bass
Anthony Russell
Julia Dent Grant sings of her fears for her husband, Ulysses, and her sense of foreboding. She is soon joined by Mary Custis Lee and her daughter Agnes Lee who worry for their way of life and hope the war will be over soon. Mary Todd Lincoln appears and asks her black servant Elizabeth Keckley to interpret a nightmare her husband, the President, has had. All sing of the sorrows of war and the hope that this will be the last, joined by a female chorus who carry pictures of their loved ones killed in the war.
Scene 1: The days leading up to Robert E. Lee's surrender
While Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant are aboard his floating headquarters on the Potomac, the President and Grant outline a plan to end the war and discuss the generous terms of surrender to be offered to Lee. Their wives arrive, Mrs. Lincoln voicing petty grievances, while Mrs. Grant is steadfast and calm. News of a successful retaking of a Confederate-held fort is brought in by Brigadier General John Rawlins and Colonel Ely S. Parker of the day's battle; Grant then orders the final assault on Richmond. The scene ends with an actual Civil War campfire song. "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground", sung by both armies as Grant and Robert E. Lee watch the sunset from their different offices.
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Wikipedia